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Hunt for the molecules that hold ecosystems together

By Sujata Gupta in Salt Lake City

PICTURE an ecosystem – a tropical forest, for instance. Visualise the lush plant life, the pollinating insects, the birds that prey on them and the snakes that eat the birds – all affecting each other in a complex web of interactions.

But how does that interaction occur? The idea is gaining ground that a small number of “keystone” molecules do much of the work. Take them away and the entire ecosystem collapses.

A classic example of a keystone molecule is dimethyl sulphide (DMS). It is already well known that this gas is released into the …